Djoric M.
Modern Communication and Terrorism in International Relations
Communication management (CM) has taken on a rising role in the world of politics today. On the other hand communication management cannot substitute political institutions and different social and cultural relations with respect to international relations. In the past a different kind of integration of communication manifested itself in the field of politics. Today, a new management - CM, has become very popular not only in business, but also in politics.
Once upon a time, the great Heraclites said: War is the father of all. It was philosophy during the Antique period, but considering modern society we could make the same conclusion that nothing has changed in world history for centuries. Why? We could say that mankind realized the special kind of communication in violence and agressive behaviour. Conrad Lorenz1 thought that fear was the strongest instinct for fighting aggression, while Freud2 emphasized that the absence of love was a motivation for aggressive behavior.
If we analyse the discussion about power phenomena in theory, we will see there existes opinions from different theories, that „violence is the most flagrant kind of manifestation of power“3. Terrorism is a modern, aggressive sort of communication between people who do not share the same value system: terrorism manifests the attempt for power. A good image of the state is very important for international relationships and communication management has a respectable role in global politics. It is necessary to identify terrorism and PR (public relations) as different forms of public communication, and to identify the practical PR challenges facing governments in the warfare against terrorism.
One of the most powerful forms of mass media nowadays is the Internet. Also terrorists use of modern technology to send messages all around the world. We can say that terrorism represents a special negative, morbid form of communication. A good example is 9/11 and the violence of Al Qaida. Terrorism as a psychological weapon is very dangerous, because it uses the fear of the potential victims. “Terrorism is the threat of violence and the use of fear to coerce, persuade, and gain a public tension”4. Schmidt and Jongman wrote
1 See: Lorenz K. On Agression. New York - London, 2002, or Bekermann K. se" nach
Konrad Lorenz Darstellung und Bewertung von Lorenz' Theorie zum Aggressionstrieb als Faktor menschlicher Handlungen. nchen, 2011.
2 See: Freud S. The basic writings of Sigmund Freud / Edited by A.A. Brill. New York, 2012.
3 ArendtH. O nasilju. Beograd, 2002. P. 45.
4 Sloan S. Beating international terrorism: an action strategy for preemption and punishment. Washington, 1992. P. 3.
about communication theory of terrorism5. The main aim of terrorists is to gain attention or recognition. Communication of terrorism is a symbolic act and consists of:
- subject of communication (transmitter),
- object of communication (recipient or target),
- message (using violence).
Considering terrorism and communication, we can say that journalists can be important targets of terrorists. For example, major challenge facing journalism in Nigeria today is that of surviving the attacks of the Muslim fundamentalist religious sect and terrorist group - the Boko Haram6. As a result of Boko Haram’s ceaseless attacks in 2011, the US and Canada, “have issued a travel warning to their citizens coming to Nigeria. The UN has also placed an indefinite embargo on all official travels to Nigeria on similar grounds”7.
Bruce Hoffman described violence of terrorists as a communication: “Through propaganda, terrorists seek to communicate a particular message to a particular target audience”8. Hoffman emphases that terrorist’s organizations in the past used three kind of communicating process. First were radio stations, second were newspapers, and finally, the third was state owned mass media. But in modern society, terrorists use private radio or television stations, the Internet and their own video production and duplication processes. Propaganda can be defined as any “information ideas, doctrines, or special appeals disseminated to influence the opinion, emotions, attitudes or behavior of any specified group in order to benefit the sponsor either directly or indirectly”9. Terrorism and propaganda are similar insofar as they both want to influence the public in a way that is intended to benefit the sponsor. While propaganda serves an imaginable purpose from ideology, religion or indoctrination, the aim of terrorism is to make fear permanent in the society.
Social networks like Facebok, Hi5 or Myspace, have a major role in communication between terrorists and criminals. Facebook for example, is a social networking web site initially built for college communities and founded by Mark Zuckerberg. It is organized around social networks corresponding to schools and, recently, other institutions and locales. At first, the website's membership was initially limited by the founders to Harvard students, but latter was expanded to other colleges in the Boston area, the Stanford University and Ivy League.
5 Schmid A. P. The Routledge Handbook of Terrorism Research. London - New York, 2011.
6 See: Popoola I. S. Press and Terrorism in Nigeria: A Discourse on Boko Haram // Global Media Journal, African Edition. 2012. Vol. 6 (1). P. 43-66.
7 Ibidem. P. 58.
8 Hoffman B. Inside terrorism. New York, 2006. P. 199.
9 Thackrah J. R. Dictionary of Terrorism. New York - London, 2003. P. 206.
Gosling, Ko, Mannarelli, and Morris proposed four mechanisms of Facebook that linked individuals to the environments that they inhabit: self-directed identity claims, other-directed identity claims, interior behavioral residue, and exterior behavioral residue10. Facebook has been blocked intermittently in several countries including Vietnam, Pakistan, Syria, China, and Iran. In 2010, compete.com study ranked Facebook as the most used social network by worldwide monthly active users, followed by MySpace. In this research Facebook takes over top spot with 1, 191, 373, 339 monthly visits11. On the other hand intelligence agencies are adopting a controversial new technique to identify terrorist masterminds. “Intelligence agencies are building up a Facebook-style databank of international terrorists in order to sift through it with complex computer programs aimed at identifying key figures and predicting terrorist attacks before they happen”12. This doctrine is already being actively pursued in Iraq and Afghanistan where thousands of people have been arrested and interrogated for information that could be fed into vast computerized databanks for analysis by social network programs.
Jihadist terrorists use the strategic communication management techniques, as well. Strategic communication management is defined as the “systematic planning and realization of information flow, communication, media development and image care in a long-term horizon”13. Jihad Islamism or “jihadism” is well known as an extreme interpretation of Islam and jihad as a crucial part of Islam. Their communication goals are propaganda of their movement all around the world, legitimization of their organizations and movements, intimidation of the near enemy and spreading fear. Jihad has a double meaning: it can be holy war by means of the sword, but it can be also the struggle for oneself against ones instinct.
In this moment, on the Internet we can find 18,600,000 web addresses about “Al Qaeda”. It means that terrorists mostly use the Internet for propaganda and communication. Terrorist sites consist of different information. They can serve as virtual training grounds, tutorials on building bombs, shooting at U.S. soldiers etc. Political manipulation plays a great role in the communication management. Eva Etzioni-Halevy made an interesting study about
10 See more: Waltherl J. B., Van Der Heide B., Sang-Yeon Kim, Westerman D., Tom Tong S. The Role of Friends’ Appearance and Behavior on Evaluations of Individuals on Facebook: Are We Known by the Company We Keep? // Human Communication Research. 2008. Volume 34, Issue 1. P. 34 or Vazire S., Wilson T. D. Handbook of self-knowledge. New York, 2012.
11 Social Networks: Facebook Takes Over Top Spot, Twitter Climbs // Compete pulse. URL: http://blog.compete.com/2009/02/09/facebook-myspace-twitter-social-network/ (accessed July 1, 2010).
12 Terrorist Facebook - the new weapon against al-Qa'ida. / Ed. S. Connor // The Independent. URL: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/terrorist-facebook-ndash-the-new-weapon-against-alqaida-1774041.html (accessed 10 November, 2011).
13 Bockstette C. Jihadist Terrorist Use of Strategic Communication Management Techniques // The Marshall Center Occasional Paper Series. №20. December 2008.
political manipulation and the role of elites14. She researched in detail certain types of manipulations, such as: socio-cultural conditions, western-style democracies, domination etc. The point is that elites have exploited the democratic process for the purpose of domination. Terrorists use political manipulation throughout media to realize their power and domination. Terrorist sites also have messages and propaganda videos which help to raise the morale of terrorists.
Several examples of Al-Qaeda affiliated regional production centers include15:
- Al-Furquan Media (affiliated with The Islamic State of Iraq);
- As-Sahab Media (affiliated with al-Qaeda High Command);
- Media Commission or Media Committee (affiliated with al-Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb);
- Sawt al-Jihad (affiliated with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula).
Very dangerous are individuals and groups which have tried to attack computer networks and this has become known as cyber terrorism or the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes. Cyber terrorism has a great disruption potential in the world, and it could also aim at inflicting economic costs. The most important factor in war against cyber terrorism is international legal co-operation in criminal matters related to terrorism.
The main aim of cyber terrorism is to produce destabilization not only in the community, but also at the global market and to be detrimental to governments. Cyber terrorism is the terrorism of the future. Considering the prosperity of technology, we can expect grooving up of the phenomenon that includes a combination of organized crime, violence and computers. This is the dark side of welfare in 21st century. In the background of cyber-terrorism is certainly a political motivation. The conclusion will be that new, modern and easier systems of communication and media could be used for violence and crime. However, the truth is that total media silence will not stop terrorists. This fact implies that each state and government have to make a progressive and modern system of security.
The OSCE Expert Workshop on Combating the Use of the Internet for Terrorist Purposes held on 13-14 October 2005 in Vienna, which primarily raised awareness of participating States on terrorist use of the Internet to communicate, plan, organize, as well as
14 See: Etzioni-Halevy E. Political manipulation and administrative power. London, 1979, or Le Cheminant W., Parrish J. M. Manipulating Democracy: Democratic Theory, Political Psychology, and Mass Media. New York, 2011.
15 United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Majority & Minority Staff Report, USA, 2008. P. 6.
raise and transfer funds16. United Nations Security Council Resolutions, especially resolutions 1373 (2001) and 1566 (2004) co-operate in the fight against terrorism, as well as resolution1624 (2005) which calls upon States to “prohibit by law incitement to commit a terrorist act or acts”.
The meaning and style of terrorism has been changed community life during history because it is a variable phenomenon. It is necessary to define the difference between terror and terrorism, because terrorism is violence used by terrorist groups against government and its institutions, while terror is violence of the State and its own government.
We should not forget that violence can ruin power very often, because „violence as a dynamic category is frequently a synonym for weakness”17. Nowadays it is easier to speak about the context of terrorism than making a real definition of this phenomenon. It is very hard to organize suitable criteria for the classification of terrorism. We could find answers for this problem in four points:
1. Generalizations of typologies;
2. Different historical, political, economic and social circumstances;
3. Similar categories of labels;
4. Political manipulations and double standard in international relationship.
Even UN States have debated about the definition of terrorism - it produced two kinds of opinion: some states speak about terrorists, but other states speak about freedom-fighters. The international community has a problem with double standards of this phenomenon which then produces the problem of a regular definition. Disregarding the political aims of terrorism, it is evident that this phenomenon is growing parallel with the system of democracy and nationalism.
After the 9/11 attacks, terrorism has become more powerful, and we could speak about global or mega-terrorism :
- first - terrorism is more deadly (proliferation of weapons and nuclear weapons);
- second - terrorism is more dangerous for the international economy (risks for business and possibilities for economic harm);
- third - terrorism has the opportunity for manipulation in mass-media (because terrorists need spectacle);
16 Combating terrorist use of the Internet // OSCE. URL: http://www.osce.org/atu/44197 (accessed November 2012).
17 See: Simeunovic D. Violence in the "Old" (Paper Press, Television, Web 1.01) Media and the New Media (Electronic Press, Digital Video, Web 2.0) in Serbia // Review of International Affairs. 2011. №1143. P. 34-48.
- and the forth reason is that terrorism has become more popular in achieving political changes and goals.
Terrorism becomes a political phenomenon by favor of two crucial factors-political aims and political implications18. Walter Laqueur said during the 70s: “If somewhere social and political could be obtained justice, terrorism would not exist”19. But he also argued thirty years later, that “terrorism interpreted as the use of covert violence by a group for political ends is usually directed against government, less frequently against another group, class or
party” 20.
We can expect the progress of terrorist s attacks in the future (because the view expressed in this paper is that global terrorism is an answer to globalization), but how is it possible to make the world safer from terrorist s actions and how to inhibit the same ones?
Crisis management is a regular answer to terrorism, especially today in a system of globalization, where terrorism organizes cells all around the world (a good example is Al Qaida). This kind of management contains plans and a list of aspects and effective responses from government and its institutions. Crises are a usual phenomenon for the political system in each country. That is why international security should have three levels of organizations: state, regional and global levels and permanent cooperation among democratic countries will give satisfactorily results. On the other hand, communication management has a strategic role in modern business and politics.
Major international conflagrations “during the last two centuries have regular spawned hopes about an enhanced multilateral capacity to manage international armed conflicts. Inevitably, they were quickly dashed-after the Napoleonic Wars, after World War I, and after World War II. The end of the Cold War was no exception”21. When we are speaking about the contemporary political situation, we can say that the role and importance of communication management has seen many ups and downs since the late 1980s. This period of reach in human history is well known thanks to the tectonic and very dramatic transmutation-the end of the Cold War. Considering the end of Cold War as one of the most important transformations in international relations (Western ideology won, and the geopolitical picture of the world has been changed), the consequences of such developments affected not only Southeastern Europe, but also the whole world. This kind of transformation
18 See more: Simeunovic D. Homegrown terrorism in the United States and in the EU // Review of International Affairs. 2011. №1141.
19 Laqueur W. Terrorism. London, 1977. P. 5.
20 Laqueur W. A History of terrorism. London, 2001. P. 79.
21 Lepgold J. Collective Conflict Management and Changing World Politics. SUNY Press, 1998. P. 3.
was obvious in ex-communist countries, where communism as an ideology disappeared, and they entered a painful transition.
The end of the Cold War brought about changes in the political, economic, social, and cultural structure of the world. Absent a distinct enemy and the threat of global war, the United States today faces a host of new security challenges that require policymakers to make difficult decisions with significant domestic and international results. Those changes were mostly remarkable in ex communist countries and were well known as a painful period of transitions.
The post-Cold War period became more unstable, than political academics (Oswald Spengler-The Decline of the West22 or Francis Fukuyama - The End of History and the Last Man23) could imagine. “What we may be witnessing is not just the end of the Cold War, or the passing of a particular period of post-war history, but the end of history as such... That is, the end point of mankind's ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government"24.
Nowadays, collective security management consists of military and non military activities. This kind of security will depend on the compatibility of main actors in the international relationship and different standards in the international community. In theory, as principles of the UN shows-everybody is equal, but in praxis we have various criteria. Regarding modern conflicts, we are testifiers of the situation when the international community was ready to give independance to Kosovo, but on the other hand, this criteria was not accepteble with respect to Abkhazia and South Ossetia. New states usually want to verify their international power, and this is a crucial reason why they make wars. This is not a new idea - it was born in the ancient period of world history. Hegel, as a great name in philosophy supported this kind of idea - if the state wants to present its power and identity it should make warfare.
The successful management of international security can be difficult when the network crosses international borders. We can find a number of reasons that are crucial to strategic decision-making, including the varying communications regulations, actors, and relations between different countries. The point is that good and respectable international management of security can be made only if we make an amalgam between the theory of science and intelligence in praxis. It is necessary for each democratic country to exchange
22 See: Spengler O. The Decline of the West. New York, 1991.
23 See: Fukuyama F. The End of History and the Last Man. New York, 1992.
24 Ibidem.
valuable information about the riskiness in security with other countries in order to cooperate and to force together a safe system of umbrella-security.
With respect to communication, terrorists have a clear aim - to send their message all around the world and to transmit fear. The etymology of word terrorism (lat. terror-means fear), pay attention to this aim. “Terrorist activity is a form of fear because terrorists know that the media will cover sensational and tragic events. Media coverage serves as a venue for expressing not only what physically can be done, but also what will likely psychologically be able to be done, as well as what will likely psychologically be the affect on those who view the activity”25.
Modern terrorism is a special, complex kind of violence and consists of bombing, suicide, homicide, threat, hijacking, etc. Each kind of political violence is a special part of the social communication between the subject and object of violence. „If we determine that social violence as a sort of interaction, then we don’t have an interaction without subject and object. The subject of social violence can be man, society or institutions; the object of violence can be, not only man and society, but also nature and material. Social violence has always been a consequence of different interests in the society“26.
There is a crucial difference between the old terrorism and the new: “Until recently, terrorism by and large, discriminated in selecting its victims carefully - kings and queens, government ministers, generals and other leading political figures and officials. It was more often propaganda by deed”, but contemporary terrorism, Laqueur says, “has increasingly become indiscriminate in the choice of its victims”27. The fundamental aim of modern terrorism is to realize maximum destruction. In the past terrorism was predominantly a secular phenomena, but nowadays Islamic radicalism is the basis for contemporary terrorism.
The international system of security very often makes use of term use of force instead of the term war. This means the supporting of armed insurgents who are attacking other countries or fighting with them. The UN Charter has a problem with this constructions in warfare against terrorism, because, terrorist groups are not States. According to title 22 of the United States Code, terrorism is premeditated politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by sub national groups of clandestine agents, usually intended to
25 Ronczkowski M. Terrorism and Organized Hate Crime: Intelligence Gathering, Analysis, and Investigations. Boca Raton, 2007. P. 19.
26 Simeunovic D. Does the "New Media" Differ From or Change the Role of the Traditional Media in Creating Social Violence in Serbia? // International Conference, ISA - International Studies Association. San Diego, April 1-4th, 2012.
27 Laqueur W. No end to war: terrorism in the twenty-first century. New York - London, 2003. P. 9.
influence an audience. The question is: should we use just violence in communication with terrorists? There are different opinions in political theory28:
1. Violence always reproduce violence;
2. Violence could reproduce violence - but this is not obliged rule;
3. Violence never reproduces violence.
Experience shows, that the answer is somewhere between these three possibilities. Expansion of violence could be explained with social or psychological factors, but in global politics, each kind of reaction is sequent to political interest. Sometimes the international community speaks about humanitarian intervention, but in the same similar situation, with different subjects and objects of violence, the international community speaks about war. The problem is how to find a regular criterion for the classification of violence and how to get started a useful communication as the next step?
Professor Paul Wilkinson classified terrorism in the following ways: Repressive terror, Revolutionary terror, War terror and) Sub revolutionary terror29. Dragan Simeunovic made classification of terrorism by goals and motivation: Ideologically motivated terrorism, ethno-separatist terrorism and religious terrorism30.
Ideologically motivated terrorism is divided into left-wing and right-wing terrorism. Communism was a fundamental ideology for left-wing terrorism (or red terrorism) and after the crash of its ideology, this kind of terrorism became less popular. The second kind of ideological terrorism is right-wing terrorism. Conservatism is a crucial ideology of right wing terrorism (black terrorism), and pretension for status quo. Nevertheless, the conditio cine qua non for either type of terrorism is extremism and “speaks of hate”. This aggressive communication implies violence and destructive behavior.
Ideas for the polarization of Left-Right started with the French Revolution in 1789 and exist even nowadays. We can say that right wing terrorism together with the new Nazi ideology is very popular today and represents the dissatisfaction with modern society. Left-wing terrorism was a serious threat to Western Europe during 60s and 80s years of 20th century. Right-wing terrorism is usually supported by the authorities (mostly informal and covert). This kind of terrorism is also frequently closely connected with religious or ethno-separatist terrorism. We can easily put the violence of the Right into the phenomena of terrorism, or state-terrorism. Sometimes terrorism and violence can present a “crisis of
28 See more: Simeunovic D. Homegrown terrorism in the United States and in the EU // Review of International Affairs. 2011. №1141.
29 Pandey D. C. National Law: The Lumped Element // World Focus, Vol. VII. February 1986. P. 3.
30 See: Simeunovic D. Terorizam. Beograd, 2009.
identity”31, as Martha Crenshaw said. Good examples are Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan etc.
Nowadays, terrorist groups, such as the DevrimciHalk Kurtulus3 Partisi / Cephesi (DHKP-C) or RevolutionaryPeople 's Liberation Party/Front, want to change the political, social and economic system of a state according to an extremist leftist model32.
Distinct causes and circumstances have influence on ethno-separatist terrorism. Disproportion between the number of nations and ethnic groups are one of the most important reasons for ethno-separatist terrorism.
When we are speaking about religious terrorism, we usually speak about Islamic terrorism. Money is an important factor for terrorists, but Islamist terrorist groups generate more money than non-Islamist terrorist groups. Illegal sources for the funding of terrorism appear to cover a wide range of criminal activities.
In 2011, 249 terrorist attacks were reported in nine EU Member State , while 611 individuals were arrested for terrorism related offences33. The majority of this attacks were in Spain and France. On the other hand 179 individuals in EU Members State were arrested for offence linked to Islamist terrorism, representing a 50% increase compared with 200934. In this moment flow of immigrants originating from North Africa could have an influence on the EU security.
Critical infrastructure is nowadays potential target for modern terrorists. For example, Islamist terrorists from the self-proclaimed Caucasus Emirate have already attacked energy infrastructure. In December 2011, a suicide bomber exploded in Moscow’s Domodedovo international airport, resulting in scores of killed and wounded35. Some of these terrorists are already operating in the European Union, and represents serious security threat for the global world. Terrorists from North Caucasus could attack the flow of oil and gas from the region to world markets, and it can be problem of critical infrastructure.
There are different kinds of terrorism and different kinds of criteria and classification, but the most important thing is to find a suitable strategy against terrorism and to prevent terrorist attacks. Statistic says that European nations alone have witnessed more than 7.500 terrorist incidents since 1969, representing about 27 per cent of the total incidents.
31 Crenshaw M. Terrorism in context. University Park, 1995. P. 328.
32 See: EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2011. Hague, 2011.
33 Ibidem.
34 Ibidem.
35 Cohen A. North Caucasus Suicide Bombing Highlights Russia’s Islamist Terrorism Problem. // The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation. URL: http://blog.heritage.org/2012/08/21/north-caucasus-suicide-bombing-highlights-russias-islamist-terrorism-problem/ (accessed November 19, 2012).
The beginning of the 21st century, even in the absence of Cold War animosities, is a period of abeyance with as many threats to world security. Good example of terrorism in the Balkans is KLA-The Kosovo Liberation Army. The KLA appeared for the first time in public in June 1996, assuming responsibility for a series of acts of sabotage committed against the police stations and police officers in Kosovo and Metohija. After these bombings, Serb authorities named it a terrorist organization. This terrorist organization was a factor of unsecured investments and capital in Serbia. Nevertheless, some Western media supported the KLA and it was good communication management for the terrorists, but bad for Serbia. Over 280,000, internally displaced persons came from Kosovo-Metohija and have found their temporary accommodation on the territory of Serbia-Montenegro, outside Kosovo-Metohija, for over five years now. The results in the process of repatriation are more than sub-satisfactory. Only
11.000 people have been returned to their homes, 5,000 of whom are Serbs, while around
4.000 are still displaced and suffered exile in the March 2004 pogrom conducted by Albanian terrorists, when 900 houses were burnt down and when over 30 Serbian Orthodox churches in Kosovo were destroyed36. Resolution 1244 of the United Nations Security council establishes the obligation of UNMIK to administer Kosovo. One of the most important needs is the establishment of a modern and automated case management and information system, which will enhance the efficiency and capacity of the courts in dealing with cases37. It is obvious that most of the terroristic attacks in the Europe were organized by separatist terrorism, but at this moment Islamist terrorism is the most dangerous.
The role of the military and the security forces has become very important today. Terrorism has a multi-layered approach and consequences and it implies the need for modern counterterrorism. We can find today new methods of fighting in the international security, and they are sometimes more sophisticated (thanks to modern intelligence), but sometimes they are very brutal and aggressive. There are many private military contractors today, specializes in various professions such as law enforcement, security, military training, logistics, etc.
The main role in the fight against terrorism could have governments in cooperation with communication management: to neutralize the effects of manipulations in mass media, to organize protection of communication of the staff and the target public and to organize training and education in the field of communication security.
36 Full reconstruction of the Kosovo pogrom, 15-20 March 2004 // ERP KIM Info-Service. URL: http://www.kosovo.net/default1.html, (Accessed November 19, 2012).
37 Report - Ministry of Republic Serbia for Kosovo and Metohija // Канцеларща за Косово и Метохщу. URL: www.kim.gov.rs (accessed March 10, 2010).
If we support the idea that Homo homini lupus est (Hobbes), terrorism will be a normal aspect of modern world as a negative model of communication. However, this is an opinion of anthropological pessimism; in other word’s people could make a better system for existence if they try to understand diversity between different systems of values. If we find the cause of terrorism, we will solve problem of international security. Until then, international community should try to make better system of security, and to prepare people not only for operative work against terrorism, but to produce scientists who would be able to make a better analysis of conflict and find a better strategy.
Conclusion
Considering the actual political situation all around the world, we could see a very important role of communication management in building sustainable development models and defending peace. When we are speaking about ex communist countries (Serbia or Soviet Union) the main problems are in regional insecurity, moving from command to free market economies and trying to make democratic governments. Another problem is real politics and its conquencences in the real world and real issues. Recently, we saw a new very important role for the EU and UN after the Cold War in conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia. This role was well known during the civil war in ex Yugoslavia, and we could say that the EU and UN (especially EU) were trying to be new factors of stability at a global level. Different criteria though and double standards make this role of international organizations very hard. The point is-if we want to build a respectable and relevant system of international security, we should have the same criteria for each State in the world.
Public relations in the sphere of politics is not just an essential part of communication management, but an important fact for countries in transition - good PR can help in the building of a democratic society. “Communication management can serve as a tool of management for both individuals and all kinds of social groups as well as government structures”38. What can we do as individuals?
Our conclusion is that human beings can be senders and receivers of messages, too. Terrorists are predominantly senders of messages in so called “black propaganda”. On the other hand receivers of messages of violence are innocent people, governments, soldiers, policemen, political organizations etc. Terrorist always send a message by engaging in acts of violence. But, after 9I11, the U.S.A. organized a war on terrorism and the message was sent to
38 Пашенцев Е.Н. Коммуникационный менеджмент: стратегическая роль в управлении мировой экономикой и сферой международных отношений II Пространство и время в мировой политике и международных отношениях: материалы 4 Конвента РАМИ. В 10 т. I под ред. А. Ю. Мельвиля; Росс. ассоциация междунар. исследований. М., 2007. Т. 10: Коммуникационный менеджмент как новый фактор мировой политики и международных отношений/ Под ред. Е. Н. Пашенцева. С. 11-12.
Al Qaida. In this situation the U.S.A. as a state was the sender, and the terrorists were the receivers of the message. International relationships where violence is a priority is a negative and destructive kind of communication.
There were a lot of victims and receivers of messages during September 11th. For Joseph Tuman the primary audiences of violence “were the recipients of that death and destruction - those who inhabited the Twin Towers (...), the employees at the Pentagon, and the unfortunate passengers on all the flights involved in the attacks”39. He thinks that the second audience was the American public, and the third possible audiences were relevant officials in the state governments.
We can argue that new, morbid and destructive rhetoric was made by terrorists. This is not rhetoric from the ancient period where arguments consist of proofs such as: logos, pathos and ethos. The speech of terrorists is violence.
Weapons of mass destruction are condition sine qua non of modern terrorism. Nuclear, biological and chemical weapons are very important factors in the contemporary world. If terrorist try to speak through the language of weapons of mass destruction, we will have a big problem. Terrorism, as a typical political phenomenon is a topic of interesting studies and debates. To understand terrorism, modern political sciences should understand the rhetoric and the language of violence. This is not so easy, and that is why theory and praxis should make an amalgam.
Man is not just homo symbolicum; man is homo communicens, as well. Symbols and words are a way of communication for people all around the world including terrorist organisations. Governments and the international community should understand this kind of negative, morbid communication if they want to beat terrorism.
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